Devotional

Christmas Homily William Dean Howells, who lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was a Harvard graduate and served in the United House of Representatives. Though, he is best remembered today as an accomplished author of short stories. He was disillusioned by the commercialization of Christmas. Regarding how the spirit of the holiday had been lost, he wrote, “You cannot buy Christmas at the shops, and a sign of friendly sympathy costs little. . . . Should not the extravagance of Christmas cause every honest man and woman practically to protest by refusing to yield to the extravagance?” Condemning the secularization of this…

Christological Titles Thesis Boston had been under siege for nine months by the British and the commander of the colonial forces was journeying to Cambridge to break the impasse. Though three frontal assaults by the Red Coats had been repulsed at Breed’s Hill, mistakenly recorded as Bunker’s Hill, the coastal city still remained in possession of King George. As the general journeyed north a lesser known yet more significant development occurred by legislative fiat, far surpassing the victory at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Both the New York and Massachusetts legislatures wrote congratulatory letters to General George Washington, addressing him…

Sanctification Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and be their God; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more;…

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She…

Religion If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. Galatians 3:6 (NIV) STORY It is discouraging that so many Christian evangelists have popularized a meaningless, and actually, a detrimental theology. To this extreme we have Tim LaHaye who capitalized on promoting the vile nature of man. Discussing how he came to write the “Left Behind” book series, in which only “believers” will know eternal peace, LaHaye relates, “This is an idea that the Lord gave me when I was on a plane. The airline captain came out of his cave and he started flirting with…

Creation When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was complete chaos, and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:1-5 STORY Apollo 8 was the first manned space craft to enter into the moon’s orbit. What heightened the excitement…

Conversion For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 3:16 STORY We have come to associate the hymn Just As I Am with the revival meetings held by Billy Graham. In those massive stadiums where tens of thousands have gathered, as the hymn was being sung, we watched the parade of people descending down flights of stadium stairs, crossing a football field to the alter before Graham’s pulpit. There, as they knelt, they were meet by counsellors who prayed over…

Christian Life Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 STORY In the newspaper comic strip Peanuts, we have two individuals with very opposite personalities. We have Charlie Brown who is somewhat of an ineffectual character, and at times he could almost be considered as a misfit in society. On the other hand, we have Lucy Van Pelt who is bossy and who could almost be considered as a being narcissistic. In one episode Charlie and Lucy are standing next to each other behind…

Hope Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name…

Social Activism The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, Isaiah 61:1-2 STORY Alex Trebek was the host of the television game show Jeopardy for 37 seasons, since 1984 and until his death in 2022. For a number of years he had been quietly donating money to organizations that care…